White Bean and Leftover-Easter-Ham Soup

Amy's mom had us over for Easter and served one of the best hams the family's ever had. With a gorgeous fat cap, it was moist, tender and full of flavor. But that side of the family is pretty small, and with one picky first grader and her super-picky mom, we had plenty of leftovers. While the first thing that comes to mind for most New Englanders is the traditional split-pea soup, Amy was inspired by this recipe to make a white bean soup. With a few modifications, it was a light and easy post-holiday meal.

White Bean and Leftover-Easter-Ham Soup

adapted from this recipe by Grace Parisi

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large onion, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

3 garlic cloves, peeled and pressed

5 sprigs fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

4 cups low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth

3 14-ounce cans cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

fat cap from ham

3/4-1 pound ham leftovers, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

In a large soup pot, melt the butter. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, thyme sprigs and coriander and cook the vegetables over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the stock, beans and fat cap and bring to a boil. Cover partially and cook over moderate heat for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and remove the fat cap and thyme sprigs from the soup and discard. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup to desired consistency. Return soup to heat and add ham pieces. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook over low heat until ham is heated through. Serve with crusty bread!

Meatless Monday: White Beans Provençal

Ah, December. Sure, it's crunch time at school, with mid-marking progress reports due, and midterm exams just around the corner. Sure, we should be cleaning and decorating and buying presents and boosting the economy and all that. But what we love most about December is, of course, all about the food. It's about the cookie swapping, Chex mix eating, candy making, soup stewing, meat braising, and last week, beans simmering.

 

For last week's Meatless Monday, we came up with a simple white bean dish perfect for wintry weeknights. Since it's Monday again, we figured we'd share. Hearty and filling, these beans are packed with herbacious flavor from the wonderful spice blend that is herbes de Provence. Since our New England garden has been laid waste by the weather, we use this particular version of the traditional dried blend which includes garlic, lavender, a variety of other herbs and spices, lemon peel and sea salt. Add some vegetable broth to make it a stew, or serve it over rice for a more filling meal. We liked it the way it is here, served with a crusty French baguette.

 

White Beans Provençal

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons (or to taste) herbes de Provence

2 large (1 pound, 13 ounce) cans cannellini beans

2 bay leaves

kosher salt, to taste

freshly ground white pepper, to taste

1/4-1/2 cup hot water

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and garlic and cook until onion starts to become translucent. Sprinkle with herbs de Provence and cook, stirring, for another 2-3 minutes. Add white beans and bay leaves and season with salt and white pepper to taste. Add 1/4 cup hot water (or more, to desired consistency) and cook over medium heat for about an hour. Drizzle with additional olive oil before serving.

Tuscan Sausage Soup

We published this picture as a Wordless Weekender yesterday, but had a few requests for the recipe, so here it is. This delicious dish was the fare at a housewarming/dinner party hosted by G and J in celebration of old friends coming back to Connecticut. We were joined by J and J, as well as C and L, and we had a wonderful time catching up and being together for a fun night of food and good company. It was the first time G had made this particular recipe, which her dad shared with her (we're not sure of the exact origin). Everyone loved how hearty and full of flavor it was - a must-try, indeed!

Tuscan Sausage Soup

serves 10-12

Ingredients:

2 lbs. hot or mild Italian sausage

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

3 quarts chicken broth

2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes, with juice

2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon dried basil

2 cups large shell pasta, uncooked

12 ounces spinach leaves

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Remove sausage from casings if necessary and cook sausage meat in a large pot until brown. Add carrots, onion, and garlic, and continue to cook, stirring often, 5-7 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, beans and basil. Bring to a boil. Add pasta, reduce heat and simmer, covered, until pasta is tender (about 10 minutes). Stir in spinach and cook until just wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Wordless Weekender: Harvesting Our Scarlet Runner Beans

Quick Cuban Pork with Spicy Black Beans

Amy writes:

I remember the first time I tried Cuban pork. Chris was living in Hartford at the time and we were dating. I used to drive down I-91 from Chicopee to visit, and our dates usually revolved around food (shocking, isn't it?). There was a restaurant across from the Trinity College campus called Timothy's that was in walkable distance from Chris's apartment. It was a quaint, charming place beloved by locals, particularly the college crowd, and we went there often. It was there that I fell in love with Cuban pork the first time I had it. The second time? Not so much, see, that was one of the problems with Timothy's - inconsistency. I wanted the Cuban pork to be exactly like the first time, and it never was...ever again. It disappointed me every time, and so I finally stopped ordering it and tried other things whenever we went there, but I never forgot that Cuban pork.

And last week I found myself thinking about it, once again. Timothy's has since closed, so it's not like we could even try it there, and we couldn't think of a place nearby that serves it. Not that it mattered. I was determined to recreate the dish in my own kitchen. Unfortunately, my lack of patience got the best of me this time. I wanted Cuban pork and I wanted it right then. We did not allow enough time for marinating, and we browned the pork on the stovetop rather than roasting it; therefore it was a bit dry. But it was a decent first attempt, flavorful and well-seasoned, and worked well for a quick weeknight dinner. What we did is below if you'd like to try it. But don't worry...we'll keep at it. The perfect Cuban pork will come to us. Let us know if you have any tips or suggestions.

Quick Cuban Pork

Ingredients:

1 1/2-pound boneless pork tenderloin

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup lime juice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 small onion, diced

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Cut the pork tenderloin into strips lengthwise, then place in a large plastic bag. Place remaining ingredients (except olive oil) in plastic bag and marinate for two hours. Remove pork strips and discard remaining marinade. Put a large cast iron pan over high heat and brown the pork strips on all sides; remove from pan and place onto a cutting board. Using two forks, shred the cooked pork. Reheat the pan and add the olive oil. Add shredded pork to the pan and fry for 3-4 minutes until meat is dark brown and slightly crispy. Serve with black beans (recipe below).

 

Strips of pork
(left)

Shredded pork
(right)

Spicy Black Beans

Ingredients:

1 15.5-ounce can black beans

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and cook for 10-15 minutes.

Settler's Beans

A few years ago, at a school potluck, a coworker named Jan made these beans and gave us the recipe. She called them "Settler's Beans" and when we looked this up online, there are quite a few versions of a recipe called "Old Settler's Beans." We aren't sure why they are called this. What we are sure of, however, is that they were a big hit at our Christmas Eve party and we promised to share our version, so here it is. They are more like chili than baked beans, with sweet, spicy and smoky flavors. This recipe makes about 14 one-cup servings.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb. bacon, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

1 medium onion, diced

1 28-ounce can country style baked beans

1 15.5-ounce can light red beans

1 15.5-ounce can dark red beans

1 15.5-ounce can black beans

1 15.5-ounce can canellini beans

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup BBQ sauce

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 tablespoon ground mustard

2 tablespoons molasses

black pepper to taste

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef, bacon and onion together. Drain the fat. In a large oven-proof baking dish (we used our beanpot), combine all the beans including the liquid. Stir the meat mixture into the beans. Add all the remaining ingredients and stir well. Cover the baking dish and bake at 350 for one hour.

Note: To make ahead, do not bake. Instead, allow the mixture to cool, then refrigerate overnight. Bake when ready to serve.